Reviews by Neffbeer:

Corked and caged bottle that I picked up last winter sometime. No date found on the bottle. Poured into a snifter.

A: There was little to no pop when I removed the cork, but there was a good amount of carbonation when I poured yielding a thick one and a half finger head. It is dark as night and completely opaque. The head displayed good retention and left behind a fair amount of sticky lacing.

S: The nose presents a heavy dose of bourbon laced dark malts. There are notes of booze, vanilla, oak, chocolate, anise, and tobacco. There is something a bit acrid going on that I find a little off putting.

T: Bourbon, bourbon, bourbon in my face. The barrel is so intense that it actually masks all the interesting flavors I detected from the nose. It doesn't particularly bother me as I really enjoy bourbon, but something to balance that flavor would make this beer much better. It finishes with a big dose of bitter dark chocolate with some residual sweetness.

M: The mouthfeel is way too thin for this big of a stout. I would prefer something much thicker with a touch more carbonation

O: Not terrible, I will finish my glass without a drain pour, but certainly not worth the price tag.

More User Reviews:

12.7oz capped and foiled green bottle at fridge temp poured into a snifter.

pours out a deep opaque black color, the slightest bits of brown show on the edges in the light. very nice thick creamy mocha colored head, super creamy retention with lots of sticky lace left around.

in the aroma, lots of creamy heavily roasted/ burnt malt, also some cocoa, vanilla, charred wood, coffee, dark fruits. everything is there in moderation.

first you get this creamy burnt roastiness, cocoa, vanilla, roasted coffee, dark fruits. the magic in the taste really happens after youve swallowed the sip. lots of charred wood, oaky vanilla, bourbon, maybe its the honey that takes on a nice sweet almost maple flavor. very nice.

so smooth and creamy, sticky on the palate, full bodied. carbonation a touch high at first but it settles.

im surprised at how solid this is, maybe one of the best ive had from mikkeller yet! i was kind of going into this expecting to find nothing that it proclaimed on the label, but to my surprise, its all there! honey, coffee, vanilla, bourbon barrel. has that trademark mikkeller ashy creaminess, in there stouts atleast. my first of the black hole series, cant wait to try more.

My first of the Barrel Aged editions of this beer.Poured jet black into a snifter,a thin walnut colored head atop.Deep vanilla and roast aromas with chocolate and toasty oak coming into play as well,the vanilla stands out along with an alcohol sweet zing as it warms.Vanilla tinged bourbon flavors with chocolate and roast,again as the beer warms more alcohol induced sweetness comes into play.This is a sipper,but its rich and warming,a very nice RIS.

The beer pours a dark brown to black color with a small tan head. The aroma is very heavy on the oak, with some bourbon and vanilla notes also mixed in. There is also some strong chocolate and a little bit of maple in the aroma.

The flavor is similar. The flavors that stand out the most are vanilla and maple, with some nice oak and chocolate notes also mixed in. The roasted malt is also present, as are some whiskey notes.

Thick mouthfeel and low carbonation.

The consensus of the group was that this was the best of the six barrel-aged Black Holes that were shared at the tasting.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Robust roasted malt flavors serve as the backbone and are joined by equal amounts of vanilla, bourbon, and dark chocolate flavors shortly thereafter. The flavors sweeten a bit midway through the sip before coffee flavors temper the profile before a solidly bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with grainy carbonation.

Drinkability is very good. I finished my glass quickly and could easily have a few more.

Overall I found that the bourbon and scotch barrels had the most influence on this beer and the bourbon did the best job of the two of augmenting as opposed to overpowering. A very nice beer that's well worth a shot.

Great bourbon and chocolate aromas.Bittersweet chocolate taste, big thickness and oily.Lots of roast. Lacey on black body. The barrel ageing gave some coconut. A bit astringent finish.Barrel did not make it amazing. I liked this beer plain too.
Ken's bottle.

No head from a turbulent pour - just the barest rim of dark brown bubbles around the edge. A bad sign. Brew is jet black.

Big bourbon notes, as well as an aspirin smell, chocolate malts and cacao, and roasted barley. Bourbon is overwhelmingly strong.

Bourbon, chocolate malt, and sour oak. Not good. Not good at all. I'm sure it's infected or died somewhere along the way.

Flat and lifeless. Reinforces the infected/dead indications.

What a shame - one beer, high expectations, and right down the drain. If I get a good bottle later on, then I'll revise my review appropriately. Right now, all I can go off of is a dead, flat, probably infected bottle.

taste: maybe the best of the 4 we sampled, though the rum-barrel version was also impressive. The scotch and wine versions were the ones i expected to like the most, but no dice. The bourbon plays pretty well in this one - extreme roasted malts, coffee, strong bourbon. I preferred the single-hop IPA series to these, but it was still a fun session

Pours as black as a beer can get black with crazy thick, dense brown head that slowly disipates leaving tons of lacing on the glass. The aroma is of a straight roasted malt, some light vanilla, honey and caramel. Not very strong on the bourbon for a bourbon barrel aged brew; nice vanilla though. There is some alcohol vapors seeping through, though not as strong as the others in the series. The taste is of a big roasted malt, coffee grounds, and some sour from the oak. What I thought would be the strongest barrel aged flavor in the series seems to be the weakest. The bourbon seems to add some vanilla and a touch of the whiskey but not as much as I expected. The oak also adds a tart fruity aspect which cuts the roasted malt very well. The flavors seem more balanced in this brew but not much "wow" factor, still good though. Well bodied with soft carbonation, good range of flavor between roasted bitterness, fruity tartness and some sweet malt. It is a tad boozy but not as bad as the others; seems more intergrated. A solid roasted malt coffee stout with hints of bourbon and whiskey. Seems to be made for the intent of balance, probably still could use some aging.

Whole bottle into the DFH snifter - I presume this will be the only drink I have tonight.

Very dark, initially a big billowy head but after that goes away there is little in the way of lacing. Not sure what the carb is going to be on this - I had to use pliers to get out the cork and there was a barely audible 'pop'.

I really enjoy the smell - but it is one dimensional. That dimension is booze. Within the booze, if you're able to keep your nose in there, there a nice roasted malt and chocolate notes but man are they burried. Think about biting into one of those Jack Daniels candies with the liquid booze in 'em. Now imagine that it was the same concept but delivered in a more refined manner.

Wow, my left eye flipped shut with the abrupt tart/booze combo out of the gate. This is much more watery than the color and smell indicate and I got a pretty good pop without much effort. The best part of this is in the complexity of the last bite and aftertaste. There is some roast, some malt, some bourbon, some wood. There is also a faint chocolate milk flavor.

The booze dominates and this is a bit watery for a stout, perhaps even more so for an RIS and expectation may be driving me to think this a bit more watery than it truly is.

I have no ability to drink more than one of these. Possibly ever, but certainly not in a sitting - or maybe even a month.

12.7 ounce corked and caged bottle. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about a 1/2 inch brown head. Not much head retention, but there is a good amount of lacing. Aroma is nice and strong, it smells like roasted malt, coffee, vanilla, bourbon, chocolate, and honey. The flavors are mostly the same as the aroma, but the coffee and roasted malt flavors are stronger compared to the chocolate, bourbon, vanilla and honey. There's also some burnt/charred malt noticable. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's creamy and a bit slick with decent carbonation. Drinkability is good, it's an easy enough brew to drink. The 13.1% ABV is hidden well for the most part. I think this is a good overall brew, I'd probably buy another bottle if I came across this again, although it is pricey.

A - Absolutely zero head, just a couple of big chunky bubbles that dance atop the surface before fading and leaving a milky way like veil of lacing and a miniscule collar around the glass... Pours a flat black with some distinct reddish hue... Quite still... Leaves a very thick filmy residue on the sides of the glass...

S - The nose if very warm and inviting... Vanilla... Milk chocolate... A bit of alcohol... Raisins... Some earthy wood tones... A very modest bit of roasted malts... Deep and fairly complex...

T - The booze dominates... Some faint vanilla and chocolate attempt to compete for dominance, but ultimately fail... Extremely subdued raisin, roasted malts, and caramel as well... Some woody notes... Then more booze on the finish...

M - Medium to full bodied... A bit on the thin side... Limited carbonation... Sharp and biting... A bit gritty and chalky... The booziness lingers and warms the entire mouth for a while post swallow...

D - This barrel aged black hole series was a unique endeavor from Mikkeller... The brews were either hit of miss with this one falling squarely in the middle... Not a bad beer, but far from the elite of its barrel aged brethren...

S - Very sweet up front - chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, oak and some coffee notes. The ABV is noticeable without being distracting.

T - The ABV is noticeable up front and gives way to a mix of barrel characteristics and the base beer. Bourbon, oak and light vanilla come together with roasted malts, semi-sweet chocolate, coffee, char and molasses. Fairly complex with good integration of the base beer and the barrel characteristics.

Pours like "Regular" Black Hole, which is a dark, ominous black with a thin mocha head that fades to a slight ring. Big aromas and flavors of bitter roasted malt and burnt coffee, with strong Bourbon notes of oak, caramel, and vanilla. The Bourbon integrates nicely with the base beer, and takes a lot of the harsh edge off (thankfully). Mouthfeel is slightly creamy, with a full body and low carbonation. Much better then the base beer, and a good "control" for the rest of the Barrel-Aged versions, but I've had about a million Bourbon-aged beers that were better.